Burt to chair India fund

Sir Peter Burt, the former chairman of ITV, is to chair a new private equity fund focused on investing in the fast-growing Indian economy.

Sir Peter, who stepped down from the helm of Britain's biggest commercial broadcaster earlier this year, will become chairman of Promethean India, a spin-off of the Promethean private equity vehicle run by his son, Michael.

Like its sister fund, Promethean India will be listed on London's Aim market and it is understood to have investors lined up including Bank of Scotland, where Sir Peter was once chief executive, and Alliance Trust. Insinger de Beaufort has been appointed nominated adviser to the company.

Promethean India, which will become the latest in a string of companies to tap the London markets for cash earmarked for India, will be run by Mohit Burman, a member of one of India's wealthiest families.

Dabur Group, which houses the Burman family's business interests, includes stakes in joint ventures with financial services companies such as Aviva, ABN Amro and Fidelity, as well as interests in pharmaceuticals, healthcare and retail. The Burman family also played a key role in the recent takeover of Punjab Tractor, one of India's biggest tractor-makers, when it agreed to sell its stake to the industrial group Mahindra & Mahindra.

Mohit's brother, Gaurav, who has a senior role at its sister fund in London, will also be involved in the running of Promethean India, which will be based in offices in Delhi and Mumbai. The fund is understood to have a pipeline of potential deals, which will include, but not be limited to, the financial services sector. It will also target Indian firms in need of operational or financial restructuring and others which are domestically focused but which have potential for international expansion.

Among Promethean India's non-executive directors will be James Hauslein, the former boss and majority shareholder of the speciality retailer Sunglass Hut.